The scale of the job losses is gruesome – 15,000 last year; 21,000 this year – reducing the head count from 124,800 in 2023 to 88,800 this year representing a 28% cut in two years.
It is said that the CEO wants to replace bureaucrats with engineers but this may be easier said than done because it will be bureaucrats who will implement the policy of sacking bureaucrats and bureaucrats are notoriously effective a protecting their turf – it is, after all, their core competence.
How do you sack only bureaucrats in a group of 100,000 mixed bureaucrats and engineers? You can restrict the sackings to those without technical qualifications but many technically qualified people may have done nothing but bureaucratic work for decades while some staff without formal qualifications may be performing vital roles in technological functions.
Presumably the CEO has to lay down some guide lines for determining who is an engineer and who is a bureaucrat but that’s not going to be easy.
But there is a way: engineers are famous for being truthful while bureaucrats are notorious for telling porkies.
For decades, Intel’s marketeers have told porkies while its great rival TSMC is renowned for telling the truth.
So a simple questionnaire might suffice in determining who should get the sack:
Who has the best process technology in the world?
Which out of TSMC and Intel has the best management?
Which out of TSMC and Intel has the best reputation for product quality?
Which out of TSMC and Intel has the best reputation for delivering on time?
